In the wake of growing murmur among academic circles of the state over virtual administrative breakdowns in multiple state-aided universities without vice chancellors, Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose announced on Friday that he, in his capacity as the Chancellor, would himself officiate as VCs of those universities.
Taking strong exception to the move and deeming it “gross violation of legal provisions”, the Bengal government confirmed its intentions to challenge the step before court.
“It is observed that Students of a few State Universities in WB where the VC posts are vacant are facing difficulties in obtaining degree certificates and other documents. To provide them relief, H'ble Governor of WB in his capacity as the Chancellor has decided to discharge the duties of the VCs in these Universities till new interim VCs are appointed,” a purported communication from Raj Bhavan, Calcutta read.
“Students can email their grievances to amnesaamne.rajbhavankolkata@gmail.com or contact the peace room at Ph. no. 03322001642. They can also meet the Governor face to face in the Raj Bhavan or during tour or in the circuit houses with online registration under amnesamne programme while on tour. Hon’ble Governor will also pay frequent visits to the universities to meet the students,” the statement went on to add as an explainer on how Bose plans to interact with students which is an integral part of a vice chancellor’s job profile.
The communication also stated that Dr Raj Kumar Kothari, a professor of Political Science at the Diamond Harbour University and the current vice chancellor of the Sanskrit College and University in Calcutta was given the additional charge of officiating as the VC of the West Bengal State University in North 24 Parganas district. The institution was without a VC for the past few months following the retirement of Mahua Das, its previous full-time VC.
Currently almost all 31 state-run universities in Bengal are running without full-time VCs and in 11 of them the Chancellor has appointed persons of his choice as ad-hoc officiating VCs in the recent past. Several of those appointments have come under the state’s scanner which has alleged “gross violations of UGC norms” and has challenged those appointments before the Supreme Court where the matter is being currently heard.
Condemning the Chancellor’s latest decision, Bengal education minister Bratya Basu said: “It beats me how the Governor could have taken this unprecedented step. There are no legal provisions under which he could have done this. We are planning to move court against this decision of the Chancellor.”
“The Governor is lending credence to the old Bengali sarcastic saying 'jaha chalbhaja, tahai muri (what’s rice is also puffed rice)'. He has obliterated the difference between the Chancellor and a vice chancellor,” the minister remarked.
Reacting sharply to the Raj Bhavan communication The Educationists’ Forum, a body of former vice chancellors of state universities, called the move a “conscious, conspiratorial and coordinated subversion of higher education in Bengal”.
“The Governor-cum-Chancellor-cum-Vice Chancellor seems to have created an illegal triad of roles… His most recent illogical and illegal announcement is not only bizarre but ominous... Serious academicians are rebuffing his overtures to assume a doubtful and irregular position on his behest and left with no alternative in terms of suitable names, Chancellor’s whimsical ball has rolled in such away that the entire academic community of the country is both dismayed and laughing,” a statement from the forum, signed jointly by Professors Om Prakash Mishra and Deb Narayan Bandopadhyay, read.
